Tama
Tama is one of the airbending students under Aang. A former member of the Northern Water Tribe, she currently is staying in the Fire Nation Palace after the destruction of the Southern Air Temple. History Born to a woman of the Northern tribe who was known for healing and a father who trained under Pakku to be a very competent water bender, Tama had high expectations on her from day one to be a water bender like them. Her lighter skin tone she received from her mother led to a lot of teasing from other students, and she also proved to be a complete disappointment to her parents with her bending skills. The biggest incident in her memory was when she was seven, after another failed bending lesson, she ran off down the streets of the capital, only to be found by a group of much better benders who were also bullies looking for an easy target. They ended up trapping her inside a very small box made of ice in a secluded alleyway, leaving her there despite the fact the sun was going down and she screamed at them to let her out. Luckily, she was found by someone once she didn’t come home on time and released, though what they found was a whimpering little girl who was too scared to even talk about what had happened even if her throat hadn’t been raw from screaming for help. She has been scared of being trapped again ever since, as well as being extremely distrustful of water benders now. She showed signs of her true bending potential, her giant sneezes that moved her entire body across the room when she once caught a cold being a big hint, but her parents were determined to make her bend water. As a result, she was sent to the Southern Tribe despite her protests. Her father, while disliking that Pakku would no doubt be teaching her how to fight through his lessons, knew the old man would also make it to where she could do more than just push snow around. Unfortunately for his expectations, Pakku sent a letter to the Avatar requesting him to teach Tama, and he gladly accepted. Along with two other girls, Tama arrived at the Southern Air Temple, where she proceeded to start on the wrong foot with Aang’s older student, Qiang. Eventually, over a fear of a thunderstorm, the two grew closer and hatched a plan to stowaway with their teacher to Kyoshi. There, a confrontation with a highly annoyed Katara left Aang not exactly thrilled with his students either, but eliviated Tama’s fears of being sent away. That evening, before her first airbending lesson with Aang, she and Qiang also ran into another waterbender who was dangerously close to killing Appa! To put it mildly, Tama was not amused for the rest of the night. Just as she thought the excitement for the day was over, Qiang arrived with the much anticipated letter from her parents…which announced that as far as the Northern Tribe was concerned, Tama didn’t exist anymore. The core of Tama’s world was deeply shaken, and just as she finds some sort of footing in returning to the Southern Air Temple, she finds it in ruins. The Fire Nation proved to be much better for her than she expected. While Master Aang left her and the other students and she felt separated from Qiang, the new-adult figures of Master Touda and Lady Cyan gave her a sense of stability that she sorely needed. New friends in Tom Tom and Hideaki, as well as a growing relationship with Dai, has helped with her feelings of isolation. However, she is still struggling to adjust to her new culture, and now left in the care of the older students, she wonders if she has driven away their teacher like she has always driven them away before. Personality Ever inquisitive yet rather cheerful, she is always on the lookout for fun. This core of her personality is currently blocked by emotional scarring from her previous teachers and her parents, though this scarring is now secondary to the pain from being cast out of the Tribe and the destruction of the temple. She has a strong sense of what is “fair” and gets cranky when someone tries to argue with her about it. While she doesn’t argue or dislike anyone, she doesn’t try to get particularly close to people either, being a little bit of a loner by nature. One of her favorite things to do is stand at the edge of a cliff and feel the sea breezes, but she is desperately afraid of small, enclosed spaces, and will panic rapidly if found in one. Thunderstorms also leave her uneasy, so she tends to run to Qiang’s room during a bad one. Oddly enough, she is extremely suspicious of water benders, and it takes a while for her to trust them. Relationships Listed by Nationality and then Alphabetical Air Nomads Aang—when she first learned who her teacher was going to be, Tama was anxious because Aang was a waterbender as well as the only remaining airbender. However, his sweet nature and general cheerfulness have endeared him to her, and she has really started to look up to him. Her feelings for him are slowly working towards paternal, as she respects all the work expected of him yet the grace he manages it all with and his affection with her compels her to feel at least some warmth for him in return. Annui—Coming soon Dai—Boys… Is the ability to annoy a theme with airbenders of that gender? Tama isn’t entirely sure. She doesn’t trust Dai anymore than she did Qiang at the beginning. Unlike Qiang, Dai hasn’t earned more than the occasional helpful hand from her, and Tama doesn’t hesitate to show her reluctance. Ozha—Coming soon Qiang—the first person Tama really considers her friend, she really considers him like a big brother. She trusts him to protect her and to remind her that she’s safe. He’s also her go-to person for fun, which with them always means pranks. They really bonded on Kyoshi, and since then she has been a bit clingy to him without being overt. He was the one who was with her when she got the letter disowning her and was the one to reassure her that she still had people who cared about her. Qiang will always be special to her because of that. Ziba—Tama isn’t entirely sure what to make of the older woman. On one hand, Tama sees a very cranky aunt figure. On the other… she just sees the cranky. She’ll offer comfort in one of her good moods, but otherwise she will pretty much let the older woman fend for herself. Fire Nation Hideaki & Tom Tom—Coming soon Touda—…Tama has no idea what her relationship is with the firebending teacher. Much older brother, teacher, maybe slightly paternal? She’s comfortable enough to sass him like she would Aang or Qiang, and respects him as her teacher… So maybe it’s a combination of all the above. Water Tribe/Swamp Cela—the waterbender who tried to kill Appa, Cela ended up on Tama’s bad list on principle at first, but now is rather firmly lodged there because of her budding relationship with Qiang. While she doesn’t understand courting traditions outside of the Tribe yet, there is a fear that betrothals aren’t the same here, and that Cela could easily take her big brother figure and anchor out of her reach. She isn’t mean to the older girl where others can see her, and often teases Qiang about her, but in the privacy of her own mind? Tama makes her dislike known. Karasa "Cyan"—when Tama was about to suffocate from being always surrounded by either boys or very cranky grown-ups, Cyan was a breath of fresh air. She bonded with the waterbender, and after a talk with Touda to confirm that nothing bad will happen, even trusts her to bend around her. She has filled a void Tama didn’t really know she had, left by her mother… Gran Gran Kanna—since Tama never knew her real grandparents, she was easily taken in by Gran Gran’s kind of stern affection. She remembers her from the South Pole fondly, and would love to visit her again. Her letters have been a real source of comfort for Tama through all the chaos. Katara—their encounter on Kyoshi left Tama distinctly uneasy because of her fear of waterbenders, but Katara has also been a regular conversation piece in her old home. Her father hated Katara during her visit to the North Pole for daring to break traditions, and that makes Tama a little less leery of her than she would normally be. Pakku—she may have started off dreading her meeting with Pakku, but now Tama is infinitely grateful to him. He set her on the right path, despite the unexpected curve it has taken, and she wishes she could show him her gratitude somehow. Abilities A beginner airbender, she has habits left over from four years of waterbending lessons under five different teachers, but has a natural talent for bending despite being too fluid sometimes in her motions. Currently, she can sorta manipulate the air around her, and use the Air Swipe. Touda gave her a few self-defense lessons on Shu Jing. Pet Recently, she recieved a pet from Qiang, a puppykitten she named Keanu. About four months old and weighing roughly five pounds, he is all paws at this age. His coloring is black and white, like an Alaskan malamute, but his coat is short rather than long, and he has bright blue eyes. Around his neck is a dark blue leather collar with a metal tag so he can be returned if he's lost. Playful and rather inclined towards getting into trouble if left to his own devices, he is on his way to being a well trained companion to the airbending students. While he loves everybody Tama introduces him to, he doesn’t like strangers and is already showing signs of being quite protective of his owner. Category:Air Nomads Category:Original Characters